Tag Archives: Pain and Neuroplasticity

Chronic Pain and Sound Therapy

Chronic pain can occur because there is an injury or disease in the body that needs attention. The best solution is obviously to find the cause of the disease or injury and treat it, if possible. But pain can become chronic for another reason. Chronic pain specialists, ask the question, “why does the pain continue long after the injury occurred?”

The answer seems to lie in the fact that all our body parts are constantly sending signals to the brain along our nerve pathways. However, when a body part, say a foot, is injured, that foot stops sending those messages that were letting the brain know, “yes, I’m here, I have five toes, I’m bearing weight, I’m OK” etc.

When those familiar messages cease, the brain assumes the foot has been injured or there is something wrong, so it creates another signal, a distress signal, called “pain.” In the healing process, if the foot does not regain full function, if there is scarring, or nerves have been severed, or the nerves in the pain system are also injured, the normal signals never resume, so it is possible that the pain signal will continue on and on.

Pain and neuroplasticity

Chronic pain can be due to neuroplasticity. This means the brain has changed its structure and its way of communicating pain messages, so these messages have become continuous after the injury has healed. However, neuroplasticity ( the ability of the brain to change) can also lead to healing form chronic pain.

Sound Therapy and how it affects chronic pain

Sound is a direct and easy way to stimulate the brain. Sound Therapy uses highly filtered classical music with augmented high frequencies to produce global brain reactivation. It has been observed that this regular stimulation which reconnects many parts of the brain seems to provide the necessary signal so the brain can let go of its repetitive chronic pain signal. Those with chronic pain from old injuries or phantom pain from amputation have sometimes achieved complete relief through Sound Therapy.

Listeners report how Sound Therapy relieved their chronic pain

“After 16 years of almost constant phantom pain due to amputation of my right leg from a car accident, I feel I have now found an answer. When I got my Sound Therapy I had some response almost at once, and it kept getting better. I didn’t really believe it would help when I started; I had used so many things for phantom pain, even self hypnosis, and had to take painkillers 3 or 4 times a day. Now I rarely take them, and only for some other complaint. The good results continue. It truly seems like a miracle.” Dr. Kathleen Langstaff, Naramata, BC, Canada

“My husband suffered for many years with very bad headaches, which sometimes lasted for several days. Since receiving our Sound Therapy four months ago, we have each averaged more than 4 hours a day of listening. Since the first week or two my husband has not had any more of those headaches. It has also helped me, by lowering my blood pressure and giving me much more energy. My husband is 75 and I am 73. Your Sound Therapy sure is a gift for us older people, as well as the younger ones.” Lorna Cooley, Victoria, BC, Canada:

“My pain is not as sharp and my sleep is less. The colours are beautiful. They stand out heaps and are richer and brighter. Reading – there are more gaps in between the letters. They stand out even more. This has helped a lot for me. Life is so much easier now. But of course I feel like a new person. The world has changed a lot.” Larissa Amy, 13 year old girl with ADD and Higher Functioning Autism – Sydney

Brenda Dickerson experienced soreness behind her ears and in her jaw for a long time. She has found that with Sound Therapy the soreness is going. She can now push her fingers in and not scream in pain. “So that is quite impressive as far as I am concerned,” she says, “because nothing else could stop it. Any heavy massage hurts too much.” From Triumph Over Tinnitus Interview with Brenda Dickerson, Reflexologist

“Probably the biggest thing that Sound Therapy has done for me would be the, in regard to my hearing. But also I have had for about 12 years, problems with my feet which were caused by breaking both my heel bones in a fall off a scaffold. Since then I had almost nightly problems with burning and a nervous sort of reaction in my feet. But since I started Sound Therapy I haven’t had one night’s problem. The other problem with my feet was quite a deal of pain, most of the time. And after I’d been listening for about 3 months, that all dissipated and now I have very little pain in my feet.

I think Sound Therapy could be given the credit for the feet, because I’ve done nothing else that could have done it and I suppose it’s hard to believe but Sound Therapy is the only thing that’s been around.” Don Clark, Builder

“I had a major operation on my leg some years ago and ended up with a lot of nerve damage and resulting pain. When I use Sound Therapy I have no pain in that foot and when I don’t use it I do. We know Sound Therapy has a profound effect on the nervous system, so it helps us both emotionally and physically.” Carol King, Massage Therapist

“I have Parkinson’s Disease. I lie down every day and put on my headphones and go into a very peaceful and restful sleep. I think Sound Therapy is beneficial to the stress that this malady brings on, Depression seems to be one of the worst side effects, and this is where Sound Therapy works wonders, making me feel re-enforced to carry on my daily tasks.”

“I suffer from MS and have been listening to the Sound Therapy tapes for about three months. I have had great luck in stabilizing my energy and can carry on normally. Nothing else I have done has helped me the way the tapes have. The M stands for multiple or many, and so I need to do a lot of things, but the tapes really have helped bring it all together and make it worthwhile. They are a life saver to me. They also keep headaches at bay.”

Epilepsy, electric feeling Hilary Peart, Perth, Western Australia:

“When I first read of Sound Therapy in their newsletter, ‘Listeners’ Voices’ and read of the benefits others had received from listening to their tapes it sounded too good to be true. I thought if I could get a fraction of that help it would be worth trying, so I sent for the tapes and both my husband and I started listening to them as soon as we received them. I have epilepsy and the medication I take was not completely controlling it. I had an almost constant ‘electric’ feeling in my head, and looked out at the world through what seemed like a net curtain, or fog. I was constantly on edge, slept badly, felt exhausted, had difficulty reading and communicating. The simplest tasks had become complicated for me. From the start I listened to the Sound Therapy tapes 10-12 hours a day and found it very soothing. Before I started listening to the tapes my day consisted of about 2 hours of activity in the morning and the rest of the day mainly resting and unable to communicate. By the end of the first three months of listening my day had improved to the extent that I could be active most of the time except for a couple of hours resting in the afternoon. The headaches, pressure in my head and confusion, gradually lessened. After about 6 weeks of listening, I visited my neurologist. He was pleased with my progress and said to carry on with what I was doing. The next visit 6 months later he couldn’t get over how my walking and posture had improved, and I later left the Sound Therapy book with him. On my next visit about 8 months later, he again could see my improvement and was very pleased, and had enjoyed reading the book, as he had an interest in how music can help with restoring memory etc. Today, after about 15 months of listening, what a change! I have my enjoyment and enthusiasm for life back. I have tried many alternative remedies over the years as I have had a number of health issues, I have a heart problem which has culminated in me having a pace-maker fitted, chronic fatigue syndrome, fybromyalgia and of course the epilepsy. I still carry on with acupuncture treatment, homeopathic drops, and magnetic therapy, plus nutritional supplements and have a good diet, all of which have helped me and continue to do so. I was doing this all before I started on the Sound Therapy, but what I found with the Sound Therapy was it seemed to enhance all the other things I was doing. In conclusion Sound Therapy has improved my:

Energy levels

Co-ordination

Memory

Concentration

Ability to do needlework (I had come to the stage that I was unable to do this any more)

Communication – both written and oral

Sleeping pattern

General quality of life

In short Sound Therapy has given me my quality of life back. Thank you Sound Therapy.”

Epilepsy, spacticity Kathleen Boyd Sharp, Camrose, Alberta, Canada:

‘Because of epilepsy I have always had to take dental work cold turkey, no anaesthetic. If I take the anaesthetic it means an instant epileptic seizure. Even when I did not take it, a few hours later at home I would still have a seizure of six or eight hours duration. Well it was mid-September when I started using Sound therapy, very faithfully from four to ten hours a day. In February I had a cavity to be filled and wasn’t even dreading it. I had the tapes running while I sat in the chair, with the dentist working on my tooth. I was as relaxed as if I was sitting in the recliner chair in my own living room. I was hardly aware of the drill (that had to be a first). This was something I had never experienced before in my entire life. There have been many times when I had to be carried literally out of the dentist’s office, driven home and carried into the house, and it would be hours before I started functioning. This time, I felt so very good, and when I got home, no seizure, I didn’t even have to lie down, but crocheted for a while and played the guitar for a few hours. I am deriving untold benefits. I was paralysed about thirty years ago with spinal meningitis, and have tended to have bad falls ever since. Sound Therapy has helped my spasticity and caused a noticeable improvement in my walking. My feet were quite toed-in, but now I actually walk with both feet pointing straight ahead. I sleep better, am calmer, and wake up ready to get up and start the day. The tapes are worth three times their weight in gold to me. I had a male relative visiting, and he helped himself to my Walkman batteries for his razor and ruined the charge. I declare if anyone touches those batteries again they will meet with instant death! Would I kill someone over a messed up charge on my batteries? You bet I would, and sit in jail and listen to Sound Therapy.’

Brain damage Carla Gaunt, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada:

Carla Gaunt, a brain-damaged, mentally handicapped teenager, has been doing Sound Therapy for the past three months and loves listening to the tapes. Her parents report that there has been a great improvement in her ability to handle stress; her speech has developed and also her recall of past events.

Shaky hands Hannah Shein, Netanya, Israel:

We have just returned home after a lovely week with our children. It was a very grim week for our little country what with 6 terror attacks in as many days. I believe today was a quiet day, so we can but pray for some peace.

A couple of items of interest. I have shaky hands, particularly the left one. When I play bridge I usually have to hold my cards with both hands (esp. if I am playing for a slam!). The past week or so I have not had the shakes and hold the cards well. Also when I serve tea, the cups and saucers don’t dance around ) only when serving with the left hand – just a slight shake, but much better than before. I really think Sound Therapy is responsible for the improvement.

“Specifically — I can testify that within a week after beginning my listening to the first tape I was able to write the plot for a novel. I have never before been able to envisage a plot for fiction, though I have been able to write all other aspects of fiction. (Don’t try to imagine my frustration.)

Apparently I suffer from a mild, erratic but progressive dyslexia and a reversal of (brain) sphere dominance. Improvement – as well as more patience, better listening capacity, more empathy for my writing students, decreased anxiety and depression and fatigue — has been steady and I am tremendously enthusiastic about sound therapy.”

Schizophrenia Reba F. Adams, RN – Dallas, Texas, USA:

“The psychiatrist told me, “Your daughter is a schizophrenic and always will be.” At the age of sixteen she underwent a complete personality change as a result of a severe hypoglycaemic attack, and a fall in which she struck her forehead on a file cabinet. From being active and popular, with a wonderful sense of humour, she became irritable and suspicious, dropped her friends and became a regular recluse. She would not talk on the phone nor eat at the table, but took her meals to her room to eat behind closed doors. Her co-ordination was poor, very mechanical, like a doll. She became unable to sleep and would go days without even an hour’s sleep. That was ten years ago. She has been doing Sound Therapy for six months and is better in so many ways I hardly know where to begin. She will initiate conversations again, and occasionally I hear her deep joyous laughter that I have missed so much these past years. She is calmer, and has obtained her driver’s licence, she has started work on her education, with the assistance of a tutor provided through a special program, and she wears a Walkman to class. The Walkman is worn from the time she gets up until bedtime every day. She has come so far that I really cannot say enough about this wonderful therapy.

‘As for myself, I have recently been working a twelve hour shift, doing private duty on a stressful case. Before Sound Therapy, I did well to get out of bed and work just eight hours, and never kept a clean house. During this case, I am able to do chores at home too. I listen a short time and get twice the amount of projects accomplished.

‘Then there is my mother, who had a massive coronary and came to stay with me after ten days in hospital. I put her to listening to the Sound Therapy tapes as many hours a day as possible. After two months, the doctor said she was well enough to live alone again, so she is now back in her own apartment. Every morning she gets up at 7:30, puts her Walkman on and takes a walk around the apartment complex. Not bad for eighty-four years old!

‘Now I have begun an experiment with a man who has been in and out of psychiatric wards for the past twenty-five years. He is presently home but goes to a day care centre. I loaned him my music tapes and my Gregorian Chant tape. He has been listening for two weeks now, and says his depression is lifting, and also says, ‘I feel alive between my ears for the first time in twenty-five years.’ He wears the Walkman to the day care centre, Veteran Administration Hospital, where one of the psychiatric nurses also is wearing a Walkman and Sound Therapy tape.’

Post traumatic stress Shea, NSW, Australia:

Just thought I’d send you a progress report This is my 8th day of Sound Therapy and already it is making a huge impact on my life in several areas. I am starting to feel a deep inner contentment and a sense that all will be well, no matter what happens – I have never experienced these feelings before. It feels like the music is surrounding me with a warm, protective glow – and this is just the beginning. As I told you on the phone, I have multiple personalities resulting from horrific, lifetime abuse and when I first heard about Sound Therapy, I instinctively knew it would help me. To this point, my life has been a constant daily battle – deep inner turmoil, confusion, fragmentation and FEAR, which drove me to alcoholism and psychiatric wards. I began my healing process over 20 years ago now (I am 53) but it was marred by persecution over some years by a satanic cult to which my brother belongs. If I’d stayed living in Sydney, I would not be alive now and somehow, two and a half years ago, I scraped together the courage to move to the country not knowing whether the cult would continue persecuting me up here or not. But they have finally left me alone and I am just starting to trust other human beings in this wonderful, warm, green valley full of birdsong. I play the tapes for about 10 hours a day with these results, so far:

Instant relief from stress/fear/anxiety.

Decreased tinnitus after 6 days

Sleeping pattern changing – still taking a long time to fall asleep but once I am asleep, I sleep deeper and stay asleep for longer, rather than waking every hour.

Sore, itchy, weeping ear canals are starting to heal – I have had this condition since I was 12.

Certain sounds are sharper and make me feel excited – particularly the birds

Decreased appetite for sweet food

A strong feeling that I will be able to heal from the abuse – already I have had some very healing dreams and deep realisations, (pennies dropping). Yesterday, tears started to flow a little. And although I felt sad when I was crying, the sadness had a sweetness rather than a stifling desperation.

feeling connected and continuity which I have never experienced before and it’s because the tapes, are reaching ALL my personalities at once, like there is a direct line/link from the earphones to my heart – I have many personalities but only one heart.

can tolerate and even enjoy being in company for longer. I am usually very stressed when in company, because I have to constantly be on the alert not to let slip out another personality. Now I am more relaxed (I play the tapes when in company) and am less triggered and fearful any more. People inside don’t hassle me as much.

A feeling of increased awareness and creativity – I am an artist an am looking forward to starting painting again now. I have also started writing again (in my journal) and feel the impetus growing to start writing my life story.

one of the ways I was tortured was sound or noise (triggering fear) in many different ways and I am constantly alert to new or old, triggering sounds the tapes are starting to somewhere change that and I’ve met a new confidence in sound and are taking away that fear.

I think the tapes are have a quick effect because I love music and normally listen to C.D’s (no more) most of they day and also play a lot of Scrabble – thank goodness I saw your leaflet in the Neighbourhood centre and it jogged my memory – I knew about Sound Therapy several years ago but didn’t have enough money then to buy the tapes. I believe these tapes to be invaluable for people suffering from childhood abuse, incest or trauma because, as it said in your book, they seem to take your back to the womb and gently and lovingly caress you back to wholeness that’s what’s starting to happen to me.

The music you have chosen for the Basic Music Kit is superb. The first few days it was just a warm blur but now I hear every note with new delight. Thank you Rafaele for making these tapes available to me and please convey my deep appreciation and gratitude to your mother. I will keep you informed of my progress.